Role of community pharmacists in patients' self-care and self-medication

Paul Rutter, Paul Rutter

Abstract

This review highlights the growing prominence of self-care and explores the contribution of community pharmacy. Firstly, background to self-care is discussed, followed by placing self-care in context with regard to the general public and accessing community pharmacy. From this perspective the contribution community pharmacy currently makes is assessed, paying particular attention to the factors that negatively impact on the ability of community pharmacy to facilitate self-care.

Keywords: community pharmacy; disease prevention; health belief; health maintenance; health promotion.

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The author declares no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The self-care continuum. Note: Copyright © 2015. Reproduced from the Self Care Forum.

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